Graces Received: Painted and Metal Ex-votos from Italy

Graces Received: Painted and Metal Ex-votos from Italy

The works featured in the exhibition date from 1865 to 1959 and are from the collection of Professor Leonard Norman Primiano of Cabrini College. Within Catholicism, ex-votos are votive objects offered in thanks for heavenly intercession with a misfortune such as an accident or illness. Historically, objects in Italy included metal ex-votos that took the shape of persons (e.g., a soldier, a swaddled infant), afflicted body parts, or hearts representing the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In addition, painted narrative tablets (tavolette), usually on wood, often depicted the dramatic moment of crisis for which intercession was requested. Ex-votos were an important part of the Italian-American religious practices in New York City in the first half of the twentieth century.